For the second consecutive time following 'Insomnia', he plays an unstable psychopath, only this time he plays what appears to be an older man who works in a photo booth and becomes dangerously fixated on a family who's photo's he developes.

Wouldn't this be the third mentally unstable character he's played this year? Death to Smoochy, Insomnia, now this.

Nonetheless, I saw a trailer and it looked really good. RW used to be my favorite actor (don't know why he no longer is, nobody is actually) and I can trust he will make some good dramas when he tries.

I've been wanting to see this film since I heard about it last spring and it peaked my interest even more in the fall when I read a positive test screening report on it. Williams' previous two films were decent to weak (he made Death to Smoochy a better film and IMO, he should've never been in Insomnia), but I'm hoping for the best (and especially after Dugger's comments) that One Hour Photo will be great.

One Hour Photo is said to be yet another groundbreaking role for Robin Williams (I think the man has had about seven now). The cinematography and art design for the film look very impressive, in a hollow, modern sense.

Edwin, I don't actually have any contacts - Andrew posted that list on the Fox Searchlight forums.

However, with respect to "Possession", Rottentomatoes has the following info:
AUGUST 16, 2002 (NY/LA)
AUGUST 23, 2002 (EXPANDS)
AUGUST 30, 2002 (NATIONAL)

I'm not sure how accurate this is, because it did open in Montreal on the 16th as well. The Focus Features official site isn't very helpful, so your best bet would be to try a site like MovieFone, MovieTickets, or Hollywood.com to find the release date for your city.

I saw it tonight. It was a better performance by Williams than in Insomnia, against which this role will constantly be compared for the next few months. His Insomnia peformance wasn't too impressive to me, as he basically acted out a copy of the performance in the original by Bjørn Floberg. In One Hour Photo, however, Williams has crafted a wholly original performance; a geeky and uncomfortable Travis Bickle who never quite lets the viewer gain any comfort in his presence.
Anyhow, Romanek's direction was surprisingly subdued. I was, perhaps, expecting something a bit more crowded, on the level of some of his music videos (e.g., Closer, The Perfect Drug, Criminal). Instead, the less visually-intrusive tone (and the often awkward color palette) worked to falsely gain the confidence of the viewer. This trust was then effectively violated when the film gave one of its few break-out moments; these would have been far less effective if they had been set against a more frenetic background. The photography and lighting is lush and entralling, and it suited the attempted mood of Romanek's script quite well. As a writer, Romanek, unfortunately, lacks the same originality that he possesses as a director, but it isn't enough of a problem to take away too much from the experience. The film's flashback framing structure is a bit tired, and the ending's stumbling attempt at an "explanation" is a bit trite, but the film is strong enough on other levels to withstand this weakness. It does, however, hold it back from achieving what could otherwise be a truly transcendant experience. As it stands, however, it's a gem of a movie that's sure to satisfy most of the high expectations of those who have been waiting a year or more for this release. It's well worth a viewing, if only to get in on the ground floor of what will hopefully be a spectacular career for Romanek.
DJ

Interesting film with a very good Williams performance. Damin more or less covered what I felt about it. I'll also dare to add that it's a Kubrickian film. Splendid cinematography and use of color, a sustained creepy tone, and a subtly revealed details. I could have done without the "explanation", and the end itself left me a bit confused. Still, One Hour Photo is a gripping film.

Just saw it, and I'm afraid I can't share Mark's and Damin's enthusiasm. Williams is indeed excellent, and the production design and cinematography are remarkable. (I agree with Mark's "Kubrickian" reference; there's one shot in particular that screams "homage!")

But, IMO, the script is awful -- embarrassingly so. Damin has already touched on the awkward "explanation" slipped in at the end, but that's the least of the problems. Major parts of the film depend on people acting in ways that simply don't make sense, even within the world that the film establishes. There's no way for me to give examples without spoilers, but let's just say that certain key actions by Connie Nielsen's character and by Gary Cole as Williams' boss are so inexplicable that there isn't even an attempt made to explain them. They do what they do because otherwise the rest of the movie couldn't happen. It's a shame because, for the last third of the movie, instead of being further drawn into the eerie world created by Williams' performance, I was constantly shaking my head at the silliness of the situation, which is exactly the opposite of the desired effect.

I'm not sorry I saw it, but it's a disappointment, considering what it might have been.